The first text message read ‘Merry Christmas’ and was sent from a computer to a mobile phone exactly 20 years ago today, (3rd December 1992). Transmitted by engineer Neil Papworth to Richard Jarvis of Vodafone, they did not know it, but plenty more ‘Merry Christmas’ text messages were to follow...
Initially limited to internal use by telecom companies, consumer desire for this new type of communication soon became apparent; in 1994 Vodafone launched its text messaging service which was completely free but restricted communication to same network transmissions! It was not until 1999 that full cross platform compatibility was established, offering cross-communication by SMS between all (four) networks. Unfortunately this was also when companies started to charge for the service!
Post launch, text messaging or SMS, became very popular with students and the potential of the project began to grow. Along came the shortening of words, “text speak”, which evolved out of necessity to send messages of 160 or less, which was arguably an artform in itself. Since then, it's gone full circle and short hand texting has become less common partly because of predictive text software, partly due to the introduction of 'unlimited text' bundles and partly due to confusion over the language. Many people still have problems understanding text speak and recently in the Leveson Report the Prime Minister had to be told that LOL meant ‘laugh out loud’ rather than ‘lots of Love’. One aspect of short hand texting that has survived and evolved of course is the use of smileys.
Texts have become a normal part of many lives, they are an easy and quick way to keep in contact with far distance travellers and neighbours. They have a commercial use too and the NHS for example use SMS to deliver test results and confirm appointments, leaving other resources free; some schools also use text messaging as a way of keeping parents up to date. There are even examples of 'SMS life-saving'; David Nott received text message instructions on how to amputate a boy's arm in the Democratic Republic of Congo, successfully performing an operation with guidance from Western surgeons!
With all the benefits of text messaging there are still some pitfalls. Cyberbullying has increased, there are reports of employees being made redundant via SMS, and of course many texts are the cause of heartbreak (no one likes getting dumped by text). What's more, although 9 out of 10, 16-24 year olds now communicate with friends and family via SMS on a daily basis, apps such as WhatsApp, email and video calling (face-time) are now putting text under threat.
Whatever the prospect for text, it seems like a lifetime ago when it began to change the world and its' fairly safe to say it revolutionised communication. What an invention! Happy birthday SMS!
Are you still a savvy short hander? Try this test and see how well you do... http://www.gotoquiz.com/how_well_do_you_know_text_language.